Held and played like a saxophone, the Vindor ES1 is lightweight, durable and designed so that children over six years old, high schoolers and adults can easily play it. With a price tag under $250 USD, the ES1 is also designed to be much more accessible and affordable than traditional woodwind instruments.

Vindor Music ran a successful crowdfunding campaign last year to fund the first manufacturing batch, provide test instruments to local musicians and run several successful pilot programs in Boston-area schools.

“We want to make music more accessible for everyone,” said Fen Trias, CEO of Vindor Music. “The Vindor ES1 is simple enough for beginners, yet has sophisticated features for advanced players.”

With touchpads that mirror a saxophone’s keys, the Vindor ES1 offers a very quick learning experience compared to a traditional saxophone. Many of the initial difficulties in learning a woodwind instrument have been removed so beginner musicians can start playing the songs they want to learn right away. Players can also intuitively transfer skills learned on the Vindor ES1 to a traditional saxophone, clarinet or flute.

The Vindor ES1’s headphone jack allows players to practice anywhere at any time — including in noisy environments — without worrying about disturbing other people. The amplifier jack makes it possible to play with a band or in a performance space. The instrument is also MIDI-compatible and can work with MacOS, Windows, Android and iOS.

“It's our top priority to design an instrument that's fun and easy to play,” said Joel Edinberg, chief musicologist for Vindor Music. “We've tested the instrument with people of all ages and musical levels, from seven-year-olds to professional musicians. I've been amazed at how quickly everyone was able to learn the instrument, including the people who have never played a saxophone. Beginners and hobbyists appreciate how easy it is to play, and the professionals really enjoy its cool and unique sound, quick response, and four-octave span. Whenever I take it out for a gig, it always draws a lot of interest from the audience.”

The Vindor ES1 is available directly from Vindor Music’s website (www.vindormusic.com) and on Amazon.

The most important features are:

⅛” Headphone jack

¼” line output jack

Built-in speaker

MIDI through USB, compatible with MacOS, Windows, Android and iOS

Rechargeable battery with 4 hours of play time

Motion-sensitive pitch bending

Capacitive touch keys

Standard clarinet mouthpiece

4-octave range

Transposition to any key

Built-in programmable synthesizer

3 oscillators, low-pass filter, and modulation

Sample player with MicroSD card

Connects into effects pedals

About Vindor Music Inc.

Vindor Music designs musical instruments that are both accessible and fun to play for musicians of all levels. We are rethinking musical instruments to both sound great and have a very short learning curve. For more information about Vindor Music please visit

Somerville startup becomes part of the first round of Engineers-in-Residence program backed by the City of Somerville, Greentown Labs, and the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium

BOSTON, MA -- September 8, 2017 -- Vindor Music, a developer of affordable electronic instruments, has secured support and funding from City of Somerville’s Engineers-in-Residence program to support the commercialization of its first instrument, the Vindor ES1 electronic saxophone. Vindor Music is part of the first round of this Engineers-in-Residence program backed by the City of Somerville, Greentown Labs, and the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium with support from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

The Vindor ES1 is an easy-to-play electronic instrument developed by a team in Somerville. Held and played like a saxophone, the Vindor ES1 is lightweight, durable and designed so that children over six years old, high schoolers and adults can easily and affordably learn to play the saxophone, clarinet or flute. Vindor Music will use the new funds for production and design improvements on final-stage prototyping as the company prepares to launch the Vindor ES1 on Kickstarter in October 2017.

“Our mission is to make playing music accessible and easy for beginners and the ES1 is our first stride to our goal,” said Fen Trias, CEO of Vindor Music. “This grant will help us prior to our funding launch in October. We want to thank all parties who make this possible and make Massachusetts such a great location for startups, change-makers and innovators. Access to programs such as this to help companies such as ours address manufacturing challenges and to make our visions reality.”

Ben Sommer, Economic Development Specialist at City of Somerville said: "The City of Somerville’s Engineers-in-Residence program is excited to work with the Vindor Music team and assist them with connecting to local resources and funding to further advance their product’s design. The Engineers-in-Residence program, funded by Economic Development Administration, is a regional cluster initiative focused on advanced manufacturing and hardware startups in Northeast Massachusetts. Program partners Greentown Labs, the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing Consortium, and the City of Somerville seek to grow the regional manufacturing supply chain as well as help early stage companies prototype and design for manufacture. Vindor, part of the first round of the Engineers-in-Residence program, is a perfect example of a homegrown Somerville company at the intersection of technology and art, a unique and creative combination the city prides itself on."